Sich erinnern ("to remember") is the standard German verb for calling something to mind, and it packs in two features that trip up English speakers. First, it is reflexive — German treats remembering as something you do to yourself, so there is always a reflexive pronoun (mich, dich, sich...). Second, the thing you remember is attached with an + accusative, not as a plain object. It is built on the inseparable prefix er-, so it is a weak verb whose participle takes no ge-.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Präteritum | Partizip II (auxiliary) |
|---|---|---|
| (sich) erinnern | erinnerte | erinnert (hat) |
Read this as sich erinnern – erinnerte – hat sich erinnert. The auxiliary is haben (all reflexive verbs take haben, because the reflexive pronoun functions as an object). The participle is erinnert with no ge-, because the unstressed inseparable prefix er- blocks it — see the ge-less participle of prefix verbs.
The reflexive pronoun: accusative
Sich erinnern takes an accusative reflexive pronoun. The pronoun is not optional decoration — it is grammatically required, and it changes with the subject. In the third person and the formal Sie it is the invariable sich (always lowercase, even mid-sentence and even with the polite Sie).
| Subject | Reflexive pronoun (accusative) |
|---|---|
| ich | mich |
| du | dich |
| er / sie / es | sich |
| wir | uns |
| ihr | euch |
| sie / Sie | sich |
For the full system, see accusative reflexive verbs and the reflexive pronouns overview.
Präsens (present)
| Person | Verb | Reflexive pronoun |
|---|---|---|
| ich | erinnere | mich |
| du | erinnerst | dich |
| er / sie / es | erinnert | sich |
| wir | erinnern | uns |
| ihr | erinnert | euch |
| sie / Sie | erinnern | sich |
Two small spelling points: the stem ends in -er, so the ich-form drops to erinnere (and colloquially you may hear ich erinner' mich), and the wir/sie/Sie forms are simply erinnern.
Ich erinnere mich noch genau an unseren ersten Urlaub am Meer.
I still remember our first holiday at the seaside exactly. (informal; mich + an + accusative)
Erinnerst du dich an die Frau von gestern Abend?
Do you remember the woman from last night? (informal; dich + an + accusative)
Government: sich erinnern an + accusative
The thing remembered is introduced by an in the accusative. An is a two-way preposition, but in this fixed verb-preposition combination it is always accusative — the "movement" here is metaphorical, your mind reaching back toward the memory. When the object is a clause or comes up later in the conversation, German uses the da-compound daran (see da- and wo-compounds with verbs).
Sie kann sich an den Unfall überhaupt nicht mehr erinnern.
She can't remember the accident at all anymore. (sich + an + accusative)
Ich erinnere mich daran, dass du das schon mal erwähnt hast.
I remember that you mentioned that before. (daran + dass-clause)
Präteritum (simple past)
A regular weak Präteritum: stem + -te + endings. The reflexive pronoun comes along unchanged.
| Person | Verb | Reflexive pronoun |
|---|---|---|
| ich | erinnerte | mich |
| du | erinnertest | dich |
| er / sie / es | erinnerte | sich |
| wir | erinnerten | uns |
| ihr | erinnertet | euch |
| sie / Sie | erinnerten | sich |
Er erinnerte sich plötzlich an ihren Namen.
He suddenly remembered her name. (narrative past)
Perfekt (present perfect)
Present of haben + the reflexive pronoun + the participle erinnert (no ge-). The pronoun normally sits right after the conjugated haben.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | habe mich erinnert |
| du | hast dich erinnert |
| er / sie / es | hat sich erinnert |
| wir | haben uns erinnert |
| ihr | habt euch erinnert |
| sie / Sie | haben sich erinnert |
An den Termin habe ich mich leider erst zu spät erinnert.
Unfortunately I only remembered the appointment too late. (Perfekt: habe mich erinnert, no ge-)
Konjunktiv II (would remember)
A weak verb's synthetic Konjunktiv II is identical to its Präteritum (erinnerte), so to stay unambiguous German uses the würde-form: würde mich erinnern.
Wenn es wichtig gewesen wäre, würde ich mich daran erinnern.
If it had been important, I would remember it. (würde-form + daran)
The non-reflexive twin: jemanden an etwas erinnern (to remind)
Drop the reflexive pronoun and supply a different person as the object, and erinnern means "to remind" — you direct someone else's memory. The structure is jemanden (accusative) an etwas (accusative) erinnern. This is the key contrast with English, which uses two different verbs (remember vs remind); German uses one verb and distinguishes them by whether it is reflexive.
Erinnere mich bitte morgen an die Tabletten.
Please remind me about the pills tomorrow. (mich = the person reminded, NOT reflexive here)
Diese Melodie erinnert mich an meine Kindheit.
This melody reminds me of my childhood. (the song reminds me — non-reflexive)
In erinnere mich the mich could in principle be reflexive ("I remind myself") or an object ("remind me"); context and the subject decide. When the subject is a thing (Diese Melodie...), mich can only be an object — a thing cannot reflexively remember.
Region and register note
In northern German colloquial speech you will sometimes hear the verb used without the reflexive pronoun and with a direct object: Ich erinnere das nicht "I don't remember that" (regional: northern Germany, influenced by English/Low German). This is widespread in speech and journalism but still considered nonstandard in careful writing — the textbook-correct form remains Ich erinnere mich nicht daran.
Das erinnere ich nicht.
I don't remember that. (regional: northern Germany / colloquial; standard form is: Daran erinnere ich mich nicht.)
Common Mistakes
❌ Ich erinnere an unseren Urlaub.
Missing reflexive pronoun — standard sich erinnern needs mich: Ich erinnere mich an unseren Urlaub.
✅ Ich erinnere mich an unseren Urlaub.
I remember our holiday.
❌ Ich erinnere mich von dem Tag.
Wrong preposition — sich erinnern takes an + accusative, never 'von'.
✅ Ich erinnere mich an den Tag.
I remember the day.
❌ Ich erinnere mich an dem Konzert.
Wrong case — an here is accusative (an das/den/die), not dative; it should be an das Konzert.
✅ Ich erinnere mich an das Konzert.
I remember the concert.
❌ Hast du dich geerinnert?
Incorrect participle — the inseparable prefix er- blocks ge-; the participle is erinnert.
✅ Hast du dich erinnert?
Did you remember?
❌ Kannst du mich erinnern dich?
Confused 'remind' structure — to remind someone the pattern is jemanden an etwas erinnern; you do not add a second reflexive pronoun.
✅ Kannst du mich an den Termin erinnern?
Can you remind me about the appointment?
Key Takeaways
- Principal parts: sich erinnern – erinnerte – hat sich erinnert (always haben; participle erinnert, no ge-).
- The reflexive pronoun is accusative (mich, dich, sich, uns, euch, sich) — and sich is always lowercase.
- Government is an + accusative; use the da-compound daran before a clause.
- One verb, two meanings: reflexive = "remember"; non-reflexive jemanden an etwas erinnern = "remind".
- English splits this into remember vs remind; German keeps one verb and signals the difference with the reflexive pronoun.
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Start learning German→Related Topics
- Accusative Reflexive VerbsA2 — The most common reflexive pattern, where the reflexive pronoun is the accusative object — including reflexives that govern a fixed preposition.
- Reflexive Verbs with Fixed PrepositionsB2 — Verbs that stack a reflexive pronoun, a fixed preposition, and a governed case — dense three-part frames like sich freuen auf and sich interessieren für, plus their da- and wo-compounds.
- da- and wo-Compounds with Prepositional VerbsB2 — How prepositional verbs build da-compounds for things and wo-compounds in questions, while keeping preposition plus pronoun for people.
- Participles of Separable and Inseparable VerbsB1 — Where the -ge- goes when a verb has a prefix: inside separable verbs, and nowhere in inseparable ones — predicted perfectly by stress.
- Reflexive Pronouns: mich, mir, sichA2 — Reflexive pronouns point back to the subject; first and second person reuse the ordinary object pronouns, while the third person uses the invariable sich, and the accusative/dative choice hinges on whether there is another object.
- vergessen: Full Conjugation and UsageA2 — Complete conjugation of the inseparable strong verb vergessen 'to forget' across every tense and mood, with its e>i vowel change, the no-ge- participle, the accusative and zu-infinitive complements, and the errors English speakers make.